What is the upcoming election about?

The Madison Elementary School District is asking to sell $105 Million dollars in bonds in addition to a 15% budget override.

What are the significant dates for the election?

- If you aren't already registered to vote, the last day to register in order to be eligible to vote in this election is Tuesday, October 10th, 2023.

• Check your voter registration status at ezaz.org/vote

- Ballots will be mailed on October 11, 2023. The last day to request early ballot October 27 

- VOTED BALLOTS MUST BE RECEIVED NO LATER THAN 7 p.m., November 7th. MAIL ballots by October 31st.

Who can vote in this election?

All registered voters that reside in the Madison Elementary School District will receive a ballot by mail with voting instructions in the envelope.

What policies did Madison Elementary School District implement with my tax dollars?

- Engrained with Social Emotional Learning. - SOURCE 

- CASEL, a leading organization for implementing SEL in schools, displays on their website a poster to illustrate what Social Emotional Learning is. “Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a process through which children and adults develop the fundamental skills for life effectiveness. We need SEL skills for ourselves, our relationships, and our work. In OUSD, we believe that strengthening these skills enhances our ability to effectively and ethically connect across race, class, culture, language, gender identity, sexual orientation, learning needs, and age.” - SOURCE 

- SEL uses emotional responses to generate student attention to drive learning. - SOURCE 

- Has a School Board member, when asked if she believes in sexual education, who believes teaching Good Touch, Bad Touch & Social Emotional Learning to Kindergarteners - SOURCE

Aren’t Madison Elementary schools doing a good job?

- 53% of students are proficient or highly proficient at English Language Arts 

- 42% of students are proficient or highly proficient at Math

Aren’t Madison Elementary Teachers underpaid?

Madison Elementary pays an average annual salary of $57,013 to teachers. The average annual salary in Phoenix is $48,000.

What are taxpayers in the Madison Elementary School District being asked?

Voters will be asked to say yes or no on two measures: 

- The sale of $105 million in new bonds - A 15% Budget Override

What are the current tax rates for the override and the bond?

- The estimated first year tax rate for the continuation of the override is $0.42/$100 of assessed valuation. 

- The estimated average tax rate for bonds is $0.61/$100 of assessed valuation. 

- Shows up on your tax bill as secondary property tax. 

- Property taxes combined add up to thousands of dollars! 

- To view your current property tax liability, visit https://treasurer.maricopa.gov/Parcel/ParcelSearch.aspx

Is Madison Elementary School District underfunded?

Madison Elementary spends $14,158 per student per year.

If the override and bond fail, how will my taxes be affected?

- Without passage of the override, the district will have to reduce the operational budget. 

- Once any outstanding Bonds and Overrides are repaid, you won't have to continue paying Secondary property taxes related to the bond. 

How has more funding impacted Madison Elementary Public Schools?

Comparing to the 2018-2019 School Year Performance to the 2021-2022 School Year Performance 

- Increased Drop Out Rate of More Than 2.5 Times from 0.4%% to 1.03% 

- Nearly 4% Drop in Enrollment 

- 16% Drop in Math Proficiency 

- 5% Drop in English Proficiency 

- Reported Instances of Violence Dropped from 149 to 126 [Nearly an Instance per Day Based on 180 Days per Arizonan School Year] 

- Total Students Reported as Harassed or Bullied Dropped from 8 to 0 

- Total Students with Chronic Absenteeism Nearly Halved from 1,122 to 696

School officials claim this is a just a continuation and there will be no new taxes. Is this accurate?

- Once any outstanding bonds and/or Budget Override are repaid, you won't have to continue paying Secondary property taxes related to the bond. 

- If both measures are passed, the current Secondary tax rates will remain the same; however; 

- If the measures pass, the total amount of taxes paid will likely go higher if there is continued inflation related to property values.

What is the difference between an override continuation and a bond election?

- Madison Elementary is legally allowed to call the override a continuation even though we will vote to approve it as if it is new. 

- The $105 million in bonds is NOT a continuation and is a separate item on the property tax statement. 

- Both items will be separate items on the ballot.

What does Madison Elementary Schools intend to use the additional funds for?

Passage of this override will continue funding programs serving Madison students and: 

• Provide access to Signature Programs for every student 

• Recruit and retain the best education professionals 

• Offer critical student and staff support services Passing this bond, the voters are to get 

           - Construction & renovation of school buildings 

           - Safety & security improvements 

           - Energy efficiency improvements 

           - Technology improvements 

           - School buses & transportation vehicles 

           - Recruitment & retention of highly qualified education professionals

I’m renting. Why should I care about this election?

- If the override and bond measures are defeated, your landlord’s taxes will go down and could mitigate future rent increases. 

- Irrespective of being a property owner, we all want to see the kids receive a quality education. 

- To view your current property tax liability, visit https://treasurer.maricopa.gov/Parcel/ParcelSearch.aspx